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Chapter 124: Scouting and Reconnaissance

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In hindsight, the entire event was a success and Anthony's group, although technically, officially, and even nobly-socially, aside from Amanda and Rex who entered using officially issued invitation from the committee handling the Conclave, was a group special in and just of itself because they aren't supposed to be here and yet became one of the pivoting special places where youths from both the nobility and the achievers wanted to get friendly with because of their special structure.

They are special because one, no one actually knew who they were. However, just from the fact that the Christiana Monarchy's heir to the throne was in this group, alone, became reason to classify this group as [special] in every way.

Two, the structure of this group was... weird. In logic, because of her identity, the Christiana Monarchy's heir-to-the-throne should have been the center of attention and star of this group but when seen from afar, the "Alpha" of this group would seem to be her escort; that tall and (very) mysterious young man. This only made them the topic of discussion even further as this "Alpha" is proving to be more and more mysterious. Even World Noble-level ladies —with beauty and their background to boost their identities— aren't able to climb the wall that is the mysterious man's dull and emptily uninteresting replies.

And thirdly, Anthony was in this group but when, as the guy writing the last paragraph said, they look at this group from afar, they'd see that even Anthony was just a decorating lantern as, though the "alpha guy" didn't talk much and only replies to question with three or four words, max, there was a clear distinction that Anthony wasn't even as much "alpha" as his Prince-title warranted him.

In the end, many people could only look at their group in "hopes" that they could strike a better conversation than the last challenger.

Even more, with the addition of that voluptuous goddess, the group became even more famous.

Cassiopeia and Niobe had slanting eyes trying to stare-until-death the possible new entry to their already compromising battlefield for 2nd Seat.

Then Alice... well, for some reason, she was in a quiet fit sharing the company with the three boys.

At the opposite side, however, Rafaela was just smiling and continuing getting close to Amanda who seemed meek when confronted of the trio with an aggressive presence.

Rex and Anthony continued to drink their wine and seemed to share a (sad) story between the two of them while, every now and then, one can hear words like "you should die" and "traitor" and "I wanna punch his face" coming from their lips like a ghost spouting their curses. The dark aura surrounding the two of them as they mouth off the curses while facing a certain glowing man is enough to say who their target was.

And as for the rest of their group, they were all either laughing on their stories or they were just enjoying the talk about muscles and the strength regimen of each party; some were even telling tales of their adventures to a group of gullible women with one being a red-haired supporting character and another a man-dressed timid girl.

If one would look at it from the perspective of those looking at this group from above, this one particular group was indeed shining amongst the other cliques built only here tonight.

*****

A few minutes more, Rafaela finished her small, interrupted, conversation with Amanda where the latter seemed confused and surprised to the content of their talk.

In the end, Rafaela was the first to disengage in their entangled chanced meeting and then point her eyes towards Rex who saw her approach.

Rex looked over at Amanda who also gazed at him, and then looked at Amanda who clenched her hands into fists before giving Rex a nod.

He nodded back at her and faced Rafaela. Yet before he could even speak a word, Anthony, by his side, greeted her.

"I suppose you're here for the party?"

"That is indeed the case earlier." Rafaela said in an elegant manner. "But now it's business and if I may interrupt your sulking, I have something of importance to talk to this man about."

Anthony's brows twitched and he looked at Rex before going back to Rafaela.

"Well I suppose I am interrupting something very important here, am I?"

"Can't you say it even if he's here?" said Rex.

Rafaela giggled, "Well, considering you're really friends both in the game and in real life, I can at least compromise on that, but... well, I suppose you already know of his real identity."

Anthony was a little taken aback but before he could say something, Rex nodded, "I am indeed aware of who he was as well as your identity."

Rafaela gracefully covered her lips with a hand in surprise and this action was so beautiful and so natural that Rex cursed in his heart how this woman always tests your resolve at almost every given moment.

Anthony, on the other hand, looked at Rex with a little shock, "You do?"

"Yeah. Aside from the son of the President of the UNICORN and being a World Noble, which you told us all back in Asgard, I'm also aware of your identity as a World Noble —ah, no, it would be correct to say that you are one of the Princes in this place belonging to the Five Great Clans."

This time, Rafaela and Anthony was visibly in to a surprising revelation. How could Rex become aware of this sort of secret?!

"So, to make things fair, I will also tell you who I am. Though I hope you'd keep it a secret."

Rafaela blinked and a moment later, she laughed in recovery from her surprise, "I can't believe I'd have to be surprised by you in this night. But my intuition tells me that I already know what you're going to say. But maybe Anthony here has not yet been told about it. But who knows, it's one of his friends involved so I don't think he won't get to connect the dots even if you told him about it."

As she finished her words, the two of them both looked at Anthony at the same time.

"Well? Master Thornberry?" Rafaela's address is just like those from The North in Terroa and this made Anthony even more confused by this rapid development in the situation. And to think just a minute ago he was depressed for being the only one of his buddies who doesn't have a girl. This only made him sigh in his heart... secretly.

Anthony paused for a moment to collect his wits and then sighed and looked at Rex, unsure of the kind of face he should make. "I only heard it a while ago. But... you're Mitra, aren't you?"

Rex nodded, "Well, I don't plan to hide it from all the people who had the means to find out all the secrets behind the fall of a Duke House. But to you and the world, it's enough for you to know I am just a part of a World-wide organization. All of us are collectively called Mitra."

Upon hearing the name, Anthony couldn't help but think that Rex was the leader of this group.

Mitra was, after all, his home planet in Terroa.

He told them once before that he destroyed the planet with his own hands along with his friends who had fallen to the corruption with it.

Anthony felt, at least, that Rex naming this entire organization as [Mitra] had something to do with Terroa and that it also had a goal —the mission serving as the purpose that must be fulfilled for its establishment.

He couldn't help looking intently at Rex, "For you to know about the Five Great Clans is really one of the biggest surprise you've shown me. But I must warn you that the world I live in is not some world that any ordinary citizen must come to be aware of. You can say that it's like an abysmal hole with no exact depths, filled with danger and deception, lies, and vanity... where its dwellers will kill without batting an eye just to protect their secrets. If you keep on staring at its waters, the abyss will stare at you and will eventually pull you into its deeps. There's no going back when that happens. Are you sure you're up to it?"

Anthony's advice was sincere and Rex agreed to this logic as he also understood what Anthony is most concerned about.

His battles, as Rex told the Asgardians, concerns the World Government and by pursuing this, he was bound to eventually clash against the real Kings and Emperors controlling the direction of the world in the shadows of society.

This was a battle too large for ordinary civilians like Matthew and the rest of the Asgardians to actually handle.

Rex and Anthony looked over the group and the two of them stared at each other, "I've asked you this before: are you really going to pull them all into this mess? Now that you know who I am and you are aware of the true face of your enemies, there will come a time that they will be in front of the Five Great Clans facing a decision. What will you then if the choice meant for a sacrifice?"

Anthony didn't implicitly tell him the more bitter words the two of them didn't want to say.

They understood each other before but this one instance tonight only cemented the realization of the truth they were facing.

Pegasus is being hidden by the UNICORN and Rex is set to getting Pegasus by all means. With this as the primer, the people in between were bound to meet and clash when the time comes.

With these people, Rex knew, a choice will have to be made someday, taking him to a crossroad where turning back is not in the available choice.

If worse comes to worst, the choice might even be between friends and foes —with both options concerning people that he cared about.

In other words —and this, Rex understood— the person named Anthony Thornberry is telling him that he didn't want to fight him, his friend.

The two of them at least understood that point.

Rafaela could feel the understanding between the two of them and she couldn't help feel the pang of guilt and sadness to pinch her heart.

By knowing that Rafaela is part of the Five Great Clans, she already knew that Rex was aware of her involvement to his predicament.

And yet Rex still smiled at her tonight and this is even harder for her, torturing her heart, making her want to choose him over her sister —the only real family she has in their world of abyss— and turn her back to this world she knew had no turning your back from.

Secretly, although she tried to remain composed and collected in this small talk, her fist was still a clenched tight ball.

Rex glanced at her and the back at Anthony and made a short sigh, "Why think about it now? It's too early. Let's cross the bridge when we get in front of it and not when we're still in the plains."

He made it sound playful enough and he even tilted his head to the side —like a playful nod— and the two Great Clan members imagined him giving them a wink or something. The tension in between them immediately vanished and though they understood that they were just delaying the inevitable coming of this choice, Rex was also in the correct side when he said that this is indeed not the right place and time for it. Why did they come here? Anthony invited them with the goal of gathering the Asgardians to have fun.

Talking about this depressing topic wasn't their purpose for coming to this gathering.

Even Rafaela, a master of calmness, didn't even realize that she was holding her breath.

She giggled and couldn't help looking sincerely at Rex with the sweetest smile she could muster.

"I actually came here to introduce to you my real identity and didn't want to ruin your night. I have to apologize if I had caused some confusion to happen between you and Amanda." She paused and then looked back to catch Amanda sneaking the three of them a glance while pretending to converse with Coralline. "Rex, you must take a good care of her. She's a sweet innocent girl."

After she spoke, she took a step forward and stood on her toes, kissed his cheek and tapped him on the shoulder.

"If you need me, you can send me a call. Good night, Mister Kingsley, and I'm sorry."

Rafaela's movements were slow and there was a tinge of reluctance as she bid her goodbye. The hand that tapped his shoulder grabbed on for a little while longer but she knew she mustn't give the eyes above any reason to question her side between the two of them.

Rex, for some odd reason, felt that Rafaela was trying to protect him from something and it was also just then that Cortana informed her of the reaction of the image of the old man in the room above them.

And so, just as Rafaela was about to walk away, he laughed —loudly— surprising Anthony and also the people closest to the three of them.

"O-Oi... what are you—" Anthony didn't end up finishing his words when he heard Cortana say a few words in the device on her ear and instantly understood the situation. He also laughed loudly and even moved in action as if he was trying to recall a few things that happened in the game.

Seeing this weird change in the situation, the girl in the middle of the two was also confused but just as she was about to question them—

[My Lady, just follow their lead. I was informed that The Father is somewhat dubious with your conversation with Rex Kingsley.]

It must be remembered that The Father is yet to be cognizant of Rafaela already being aware of their [Project Salvation]. Fear hugged her heart and instantly realized that it may have been Rex or his Battle-AI that informed [Newgate] about it.

Hiding the fear in her heart, she felt thankful of Rex and followed the two's lead, making a shy and bashful gesture, "Oh you two. I didn't really know about it. It was really embarrassing."

Rex, taking the lead, beckoned for the surprised Amanda and exclaimed, "You might not know of it but she really did helped us back then."

Amanda was confused and then she heard Lily on her Comm Device and although still a little bit confused, just followed her advice.

She made a "surprised" gesture and hugged the girl as if saying "thank" and everything.

"I didn't know you were there. Thank you." this was a line Lily told her to say to Rafaela.

And then, out of the blue, the other Asgardians hearing the voice on their own Ear Pieces, made a sudden acting gesture as if they were in a play.

The third party nearby may have discovered all of their reactions being forced but from afar, and because they each had masks on their faces, the "acting" was hid and a catastrophe was averted.

"Oh, you were that one at the time. Thank you!"

"I didn't know you were there."

"I was saved back then, thank you!"

"Hahahaha!"

"Hm. Hm."

"Oh, that was lucky."

The people, still confused, hearing their words, realized that they seem to know each other from RPG: Terroa and that Rafaela was also there to save them from something.

With their gestures and overly enthusiastic act of punching, kicking, and even mimicking monsters they've fought, the scripted play became a solid foundation for a lie to save Rafaela.

The short goodbye earlier was delayed and the agents deployed to spy on their groups learned that by chance, Anthony Thornberry's Guild, the [TOS Guild], had met with Rafaela's by chance and saved her Miranda from a monster horde.

It sparked their short meeting and it would seem that the reason why Rafaela actually tried to get close to Rex is for her to meet with Anthony and say her thanks in person. Even more, the people around them called Rex as Mitra —no one really called him Rex nor are they aware that the girl by his side was actually the heir to the throne of the Christiana Monarchy.

She went by the name of Scion and the reason why Rafaela approached Rex is plainly because she wanted to mess with Amy. Nothing else.

In the end, this was Rex and Anthony's first ever meeting and that they hit it off because they all played RPG: Terroa.

Having learnt what they came for, the spies sent to listen to their conversations secretly walked back to report their findings.

Thirty minutes later, the emergency was lifted and the Asgardians slowly, one by one, all came back to their mini-circles to continue their chat.

—or at least that's how they looked.

When they were in place, pretending to talk with each other, they all asked what was going on as Rex started to explain the situation. He even told them that there are eyes in the ceiling observing him and his actions.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have invited you all here today. I don't really have any actual power in my hands that can protect you from these families."

Sipping wine, pretending to be smiling talking of things Terroa-related, Rex laughed yet his words didn't contain any joy in it, "It's not your fault so don't pressure yourself. The entire event is but a guise by those old people. In fact, Amanda being kidnapped may have been their plan all along to actually lure me out here."

"Are they aware of who you are?" asked Matt.

It was surprising now that his mood was calmer.

"Just the things I want them to know. They don't know of you guys yet and I'm also planning your escorts so you can rest assured that the rest of your stay here in Sweetzerland is safe from the eyes and ears of the spies. Don't remove your masks. It's part of my plan."

"Uweeeehh..." someone's whimpering made the entire serious Comms channel seemed a joke.

All eyes turned to a certain direction, seeing the trembling girl who was their thief, [Pitou].

"I'm just a normal player. I wanna go home."

"Well, I heard your family is running a business so I was wondering if you wanted to make it big and run a company." Rex's voice sounded like a devil trying to bait an innocent soul. In this case, the meek and timid [Pitou] was actually an exact depiction of that innocent soul ripe for taking.

And, like a fish in the hook, the whimpering girl-in-men's-clothes looked at his direction from the sofa she was in with Fuma and Red Metal.

"R-Really?"

"Don't forget that I'm a billionaire. I own the—"

At the topic of "The Company", Rex's voice made a sudden stop and the faces of the people involved in the incident began to form beads of sweat on their foreheads.

"I-I think I'm having a headache." Anthony made an excuse. "I'm going first."

"You're holding your stomach."

"—Ulcer! Ulcer kindles headaches. Ow ow ow..."

"Aye. Okay. I think I saw something interesting earlier where our little Thorn is trembling in front of a lady. Wait, what was her name again? Is it—"

"—Don't say it! I'm healthy! Look! Healthy! See?"

"I forgot, but my house was still burning from the meteor that fell yesterday." (Matt)

"I'll send a nuke for it next."

"Please don't."

"I forgot to breathe so I'm going back." (Fuma)

"You want me to buy a crutch as well?"

"Please don't."

"Bye." (Coralline)

"""Have some decency!!"""

Aye, these four were the first to make excuses to the mention of the changing of his Black Sieve Company —name— into [Black Label]. They also happen to be the first people he called back then when he wanted to ask what was happening.

(AN: Vol.7-Ch73)

Rex eyed the rest of their group and they all had the same reactions of looking somewhere else.

—Oi, Rio (Samara), why are you playing dead?

—you...!!